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FreekS -> 'Doomed' ground units (12/24/2008 9:42:08 AM)
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ANW introduced the concepts of 'doomed ground units'. Basically it means that when they have been damaged tp 100% level, they stay around for a while (statud 'doomed' to the player) and disappear after a few minutes.
Analogies have been drawn to ships which after being hit to 100% can float for hours before sinking.
Here are a few problems that unintentionally got introduced with the doomed behaviour. And below is a proposal for further improvement of the behaviour for AGSI consideration.
1. Doomed units still emit radar, and stay in the communication network (this is different to ships which drop from the comms network as soon as hit 100%). In one MP game I had a ARM-armed Fencer shoot at a radar, note that its radar signal was still up after the ARMs hit, and fired more missiles from another Fencer in range and en-route to another radar site. turned out the second attack was wasted as the radar disappeared just before they hit.
Especially during SEAD attacks, a player has very little time to clear the way for the strikers, and a 6 minute delay between the moment the radar is hit and damaged to 100% and the moment it stops emitting is really a problem.
Given that in many scenarios players will carry out alpha strikes with SEAD packages aimed at radars and SAMS, and that players usually do their best to have these SEAD planes strike at the same time as the inbound strikers launch, I believe this is a common issue.
2. In many scens, as a designer I use special units to strengthen the AI vs the player. Often this takes the form of a comms link between an AI-played side and a side providing Intel/Recce. Demolition-units on specific ground strike missions are then used to kill the C3I unit relaying this info in case that side is played by the player. These missions are executed instantly on start of game. However the current doomed behaviour means that even with the C3I killed, the player continues to receive all information untill the doomed C3I dies.
This method sounds like a very special case, but I'd say that maybe half of my scens use this method - to strengthen the IA against the player. I've found some workarounds - which involve not using a C3I but a no-comms Airbase from which a plane is launched after 10 min solely act as a link in the comms network. When the A/B is hit and dies in 10 min the plane will not have taken off. But you can see how complex these kind of workarounds are becoming!
So my question is; could the 'doomed' bahaviour be further improved by dropping the doomed unit from the comms network as soon as its damage reached 100%? I believe this is also what happens to 'doomed' ships and would be entirely realistic (any personel still alive on a 100% damaged facility would no doubt be escaping, not passing intel!).
Freek
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